Udaipur in race to be nation’s 1st wetland city

Udaipur in race to be nation’s 1st wetland city

Subject : Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Context:

• The Rajasthan government is working towards making Udaipur the country’s first wetland city.

Udaipur, Rajasthan:

• Udaipur is surrounded by five major lakes and is already part of the restoration project of the National Lake Conservation Plan.
• The state environment and forest department is sending a nomination to the Ramsar Convention to declare Udaipur as a wetland city.
• The convention recognizes wetlands that are internationally important and support endangered species.
• Currently, there are only a few cities worldwide that have this title.

Internationally important wetland:

• As per Ramsar Convention, a wetland has to be considered internationally important if it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region and supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.
• As per state authorities, Udaipur city, spread over 37 sq km, meets all the required criteria to be declared as a wetland city.

Wetland city:

• Only a handful of cities in the world have been given this title. Other than Udaipur, Bhopal is also in the race for the tag.
• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
• Currently, there are 42 wetland cities spread across 17 countries worldwide, with China having the maximum or 13 such cities.

Accredited wetland cities:

2022: During COP14 the Convention recognized 25 cities for their efforts to safeguard urban wetlands for people and nature.

• Cities accredited: Canada: Sackville, China: Hefei; Jining; Liangping; Nanchang; Panjin; Wuhan; and Yangcheng, France: Belval-en-Argonne and Seltz, Indonesia: Subaraya and Tanjung Jabung Timur, Islamic Republic of Iran: Bandar Khamir and Varzaneh, Iraq: Al Chibayish, Japan: Izumi and Niigata, Morocco: Ifrane, Republic of Korea: Gochang; Seocheon; and Seogwipo, Rwanda: Kigali, South Africa: Cape Town, Spain: Valencia, Thailand: Sri Songkhram District

2018: During COP13 the Convention recognized 18 cities for their protection and wise use of urban wetlands. These pioneer cities serve as examples and inspire deliberate actions for other cities towards sustainable urbanization.

• Cities accredited: China: Changde, Changshu, Dongying, Haerbin, Haikou, Yinchuan, France: Amiens, Courteranges, Pont Audemer, Saint Omer, Hungary: Lakes by Tata, Republic of Korea: Changnyeong, Inje, Jeju, Suncheon, Madagascar: Mitsinjo, Sri Lanka: Colombo, Tunisia: Ghar elMelh

Source: India Times